Koffman goes for one final foodie push November 2, 2009 WE ARE the Napoleons of the kitchen,” chuckles the affable Pierre Koffman. He is sitting with his trusty lieutenants, fellow Michelin-starred chefs Eric Chavot and Bruno Loubet, in the lounge area of his restaurant on the roof of Selfridges, sipping a ristretto after the lunchtime service. They have certainly earned it. Since Koffman came out [...]
The deep south comes to Camden January 4, 2010 The Blues Kitchen 111-113 Camden High Street, NW1 7JN Tel: 020 7387 5277 Cost per person without wine: £25 WHAT is it with fatty food these days? Low-fat dining – dressing on the side, steamed vegetables,“low fat” in brackets next to the dish – seems to belong to some distant era wholly unrelated to the [...]
How London fell for American cuisine January 27, 2010 FIVE years ago, McDonalds was the best-known export of US cuisine in London. Yes, there have been other venues dedicated to that fine nation’s culinary tradition, such as Joe Allen and the Chicago Rib Shack, which have both been around since the 1970s. But mostly it’s been burgers and bad steaks, confined to slightly grotty [...]
Koffman’s pop-up proves that he’s still the king of London fine dining November 9, 2009 NOSTALGIA is a wonderful thing. When it was announced that Pierre Koffman would come out of retirement to run a restaurant on the roof of Selfridges for one week only, the phones rang off the hook with former customers who remembered his Chelsea restaurant Tante Claire, which closed several years ago. But the crowd wasn’t [...]
The Cornwall haven that’s just for grown-ups July 18, 2010 THE Scarlet. Where to begin? The 37-bedroom eco-hotel in Mawgan Porth, northern Cornwall, is a nexus of cutting-edge green technology and style; of character and sleekness. It’s cosy yet minimalist; an architectural statement yet completely at one with its environment. Of all the above, the latter is the most impressive. The boundary between inside and [...]
The Cornwall haven that’s just for grown-ups July 18, 2010 THE Scarlet. Where to begin? The 37-bedroom eco-hotel in Mawgan Porth, northern Cornwall, is a nexus of cutting-edge green technology and style; of character and sleekness. It’s cosy yet minimalist; an architectural statement yet completely at one with its environment. Of all the above, the latter is the most impressive. The boundary between inside and [...]
Take yourself out for a lovely dinner alone October 7, 2009 IT’S not just about where you eat, but who you eat with. Nothing says quiet confidence like dining alone. Indeed, Suzanne Pirret, the pin-up chef, wrote a whole book called The Pleasure’s All Mine, about the joys of dining alone. If the thought of sitting at a table for two on your own puts you [...]
A stylish new hotel comes to the Square Mile November 15, 2009 There’s a new hotel in the City – and about time too. Considering the area’s global pre-eminence as a centre of finance and business, with people constantly jetting in from around the world to do deals, it’s surprising how light it’s been on good places for them to stay. That’s about to change thanks to [...]
We’ll always have Paris January 24, 2010 NOBODY does romance better than the French. Paris might no longer be the centre of world when it comes to business or culture, but in terms of places to spend Valentine’s Day nothing comes close. The French capital has a huge spectrum of hotels for every budget and taste, but the knowledgeable people at the [...]
MY OTHER CAR’S AN ASTON, BUT THE G-WIZ IS PERFECT FOR LONDON December 1, 2009 IF YOU watch Top Gear, you will have recently seen Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond trying to build an electric car to rival the best-selling G-Wiz. The presenters hate electric cars as they stand for everything that they don’t. I am no greenophile – my other car is an Aston Martin. Yet I [...]